News archive March/April
2005
National Network
Heritage, Narrow-Gauge and
Miniature
Away from the tracks
National Network
Freight firm
among TLGN shortlist
Of the five bidders who have prequalified for the new Thameslink/Great Northern
(TLGN) franchise, three come as no surprise: FirstGroup, National Express
and Stagecoach. The others, announced by the SRA on April 1, are MTR/John
Laing (operator of the successful Chiltern Railways), and a consortium of
Danish State Railways (DSB) and freight operator EWS. The consortium claims
that DSB is one of Europe’s best performing and punctual passenger rail operators.
Go-Ahead has run Thameslink with its French partner Keolis since 1997.
It said it was “surprised and disappointed” to have been left off the list.
TLGN will comprise the existing Bedford-to-Brighton Thameslink line as
well as the GN network which NatEx’s WAGN arm runs at the moment. The four-year
franchise, expected to begin operations on April 1 2006, could be extended
if performance targets are met.
A third 86 joins the fray
Far from disappearing from traffic (NRS
Newsletter Jan/Feb 2005)
, one’s Class 86 fleet increased to to three on March 28 when no. 86234 worked
the 1000 Norwich – Liverpool Street, joining classmates nos. 86232/5 in regular
service.
Using three Class 86s should reduce the failure rates of the Class 90s,
which can now receive more thorough overhauls.
No trains north of Cambridge over bank holiday
Network Rail will use bank holiday weekends in April and May to carry out
bridge and track work near Cambridge. As a result, from April 29 to May
3 inc. Cambridge to Ely and Peterborough trains will not run; and from May
27-31 inc. there will be no trains at all north of Cambridge.
All three TOCs which serve Cambridge – Wagn, one and Central Trains
– will be affected. Express buses will replace trains between Cambridge
and major stations, with other buses serving intermediate stations.
The Fenman is back
After a long gap the “Fenman” name has returned to the London – King’s Lynn
line. However it’s been applied not to a train service but to a multiple-unit.
On March 10 Wagn Class 365 emu no. 365518 was named The Fenman at
King’s Lynn station by Mrs Elizabeth Forgan. Mrs Forgan’s late husband David
was vice-chairman of the Fen Line Users’ Association.
The Fenman was the title originally bestowed in 1949 on a fast train
whose principal section ran between Liverpool Street and Hunstanton, but
the name was dropped many years ago.
one moves up, Central stays bottom
Quarterly performance figures from the SRA released on March 17 show that
nationally 80.3% of trains ran on time in Q3 (Oct-Dec 2004), up from 76.4%
in the same period in 2003. Most TOCs registered an improvement, among them
one’s InterCity services whose punctuality climbed 10.6 points to
84.1%. Central Trains’ dismal figure of 67.2% kept it at the foot of the
Regional Operators’ table.
Yarmouth station “an insult to Nelson”
A committee organising this year’s Trafalgar Day bicentenary celebrations
at Yarmouth has complained about the condition of the town’s station. To
reach South Quay and the heritage attractions, it says, visitors have first
to arrive at a rundown station and walk across a “dingy” footbridge.
Faith Carpenter, curator of the Norfolk Nelson Museum, described the station
and trains as an insult to the honour of Nelson and his history in the town.
Yarmouth station, she says, is gloomy with paint peeling off the “welcome”
sign and Vauxhall Bridge is strewn with litter. What’s more, revellers returning
from Norwich on the last Friday and Saturday night service are often sick
on the train.
A spokesman for one said that the company has plans to refurbish
the toilets, redesign the station forecourt, install a bus shelter and repaint
the station.
Norwich – Stratford-on-Avon steam jaunt ditched
Hopes for a ground-breaking steam-hauled railtour out of Norwich have been
dashed.
King’s Lynn-based travel firm The Railway Touring Co. – whose Michael
Hyde addressed the NRS in February – had made provisional plans for the unique
ex-BR 4-6-2 no.71000 Duke of Gloucester to haul The Shakespeare
Visitor from Norwich to Stratford-on-Avon and back. RTC had pencilled
in the trip for April 2 and planned to promote the excursion jointly with
the Eastern Daily Press. When the newspaper pulled out RTC felt unable
to go ahead, claiming that without press support a steam-hauled train from
Norwich would not attract enough passengers.
More car space at King’s Lynn
Wagn is to create 75 more car parking spaces at King’s Lynn station, bringing
the total to 209. The work is expected to be completed by November.
Thetford improvements exclude disabled access
At Thetford Town Council's meeting in late February, councillors were told
that money has been awarded to increase accessibility between rail, bus and
roads. The station car park has already been resurfaced.
However campaigners who have long fought to provide access for disabled
passengers to the Norwich-bound platform, will receive little comfort from
the measures. There are no plans to install a lift or new footbridge to
allow the disabled to cross between platforms.
one spends to boost leisure travel
In a £300,000 campaign, one is aiming to fill spare capacity
on trains leaving London by encouraging people to make leisure trips to the
East of England. 340,000 households in outer London and inside the M25 will
receive a leaflet containing a two-for-one saver ticket offer.
For the second year running, one will be principal sponsor for the
Norfolk & Norwich Festival. Previous operator Anglia Railways sponsored
the Festival for over ten years, and the new partnership between one
and the Festival aims to build both audiences and passenger rail journeys.
This year’s Festival commences on May 4.
Bow Jc. OHL damage disrupts trains for over
a day
For around 36 hours trains in and out of Liverpool Street, including main-line
services to East Anglia, were disrupted by overhead line damage near Stratford.
Problems began early on Monday February 28 when a Cl.315 unit brought down
the line at Bow Junction (1m W of Stratford), wrecking its pantograph in
the process. Engineers repairing the equipment occupied two of the four tracks
between Stratford and Bethnal Green, causing some trains to be cancelled
and others delayed by around 40 minutes.
Joint control centre will cut hold-ups
one services should experience less delays, and there should be fewer
cases of trains “backing up” outside Liverpool Street, thanks to a new Integrated
Control Centre in London. In late February Alistair Darling, Secretary of
State for Transport, officially opened the Anglia ICC. The centre is the
sixth to be launched, and puts control staff from Network Rail and one
side by side, with the aim of shortening lines of communication and improving
the service for passengers.
A lick of paint for Beccles
Shabby conditions at Beccles station have long been a source of local complaints,
but now the waiting shelters, information boards and lamp posts have been
repainted. The station has also received new signs in one colours,
funded by £1,000 from Councillor Alan Thwaites’s “locality budget”
- a budget which each Suffolk County Council member may spend on his or her
pet project.
Near misses on local lines
Serious collisions between road and rail vehicles have been narrowly averted.
During the evening of Friday February 11 Haddiscoe witnessed a small-scale
version of 2001's fatal derailment at Great Heck. A van driven by 41-year-old
Terry Lee from Peterborough came off the road, crashed through a fence, and
ended up on the track near Haddiscoe station. Shocked but unhurt, Mr Lee
borrowed a torch from a nearby house. He ran up the track to warn an approaching
Lowestoft–Norwich train. Seeing the light, the train driver applied the
brake and was travelling at only 5 mph when the leading carriage collided
with the the van. Train services were suspended until 9.42pm, and passengers
were taken to their destinations by taxi.
Meanwhile at a level crossing on the A1075 Dereham – Thetford road, Konectbus
driver Mike Copping claims to have twice narrowly avoided catastrophic crashes.
Mr Copping, who was driving a no. 77 bus from Thetford to Swaffham, says
that the automatic barriers came down without warning on two occasions and
landed on the roof of his bus. As a result, he had to throw the bus into
reverse to avoid being hit by a train passing seconds later.
Network Rail checked the crossing after the incidents, but claimed that
barriers and lights were functioning correctly.
Drugs search at “dangerous” Norwich station
Saturday February 26 saw a random drugs check at Norwich station, which
British Transport Police have identified as among the most dangerous in the
South East. Passengers arriving on early evening trains were examined by
a police sniffer dog as part of an operation aimed at impeding the drugs
route into Norwich. Five men and one woman were picked out although none
was found in possession of drugs. The exercise may be repeated.
The BTP statistics released in February showed the number of recorded
violent crimes at stations in and around London between April 2004 and January
2005. Norwich had 28 violent incidents, but whether the victims were passengers
or staff was not disclosed. London’s Victoria station recorded the most
violent crimes - 141. Outside the capital there were 38 incidents at Reading
station, 37 at Slough and 30 at Brighton.
Give us more Bittern Line trains, urges Partnership
The Bittern Line Community Partnership claims the service is suffering from
overcrowding during the summer, causing lost revenue and complaints from
passengers. Chairman Peter Twiss has called for more trains between Norwich
and North Walsham or extra carriages. However one refuted the claims
and said that extra trains would be too expensive.
Passenger figures on the Bittern Line have grown by more than 150% since
the Partnership was set up in 1997. More than 500,000 passengers were carried
last year.
Heritage, Narrow-Gauge and Miniature
J15 to step in at Dereham
Preparations for May’s special steam service are under way on the Mid-Norfolk
Railway. Using track panels transported by rail from Dereham yard, weekend
working parties have constructed a run-round loop at Wymondham. At Wymondham
Abbey station, new decking has been fitted to the temporary platform.
Contrary to earlier plans for B12 4-6-0 no. 61572 to operate the service,
the North Norfolk Railway will instead be loaning J15 0-6-0 no.65462. Steam-hauled
trains will run each Saturday and Sunday during May (also BH Mon May 2),
and from Monday May 30 to Saturday June 4 (school half-term). Departures
from Dereham will be at 1015, 1300 and 1540, and return trains will leave
Wymondham Abbey at 1205, 1450 and 1730. The return fare will be £10.
At Dereham the new water tower and tank, manufactured by Wensum Engineering
of Fakenham, were erected on February 10. In due course the steelwork will
be encased in brick to provide a more traditional appearance. The station
building itself is in the final stages of a major refurbishment, with wood
panelling being applied to the interior walls.
Green light for Brockford expansion
Plans to expand activities at the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Museum have
been given the go-ahead.
The Brockford-based railway, which benefited from a donation at this year’s
NRS Open Day, can now increase its steaming days from eight to 20 per year.
It has also been granted permission to open its museum throughout the year.
Previously it could open only from Easter to September.
Approving the railway’s application, Mid Suffolk District Council overruled
planning officers who objected that too much noise and disturbance would
be caused in what is a quiet country location.
Is Blickling Hall “Britain’s most powerful”?
In a major overhaul, the Bure Valley Railway’s “ZB” class 2-6-2 no. 6
Blickling Hall has received new cylinders and had its valve timings changed.
Its frames have been straightened and new smoke deflectors fitted. The
modifications have led BVR’s chairman Andrew Barnes to claim that the loco
may now be Britain’s most powerful 15”-gauge loco.
Meanwhile 2-6-4T no. 1 Wroxham Broad is receiving a new firebox
tubeplate and a chassis overhaul, after which it is due to be repainted in
Caledonian-style light blue livery.
Blackpool tram earns its keep once more
It’s been shut away at the East Anglia Transport Museum since 1984, but
now Blackpool Corporation tramcar No.11 is back in action. The single-deck
car was ceremonially relaunched into service on Easter Saturday, March 26.
No.11 is the only survivor of a batch of 12 cars built in 1939 and features
the VAMBAC (Variable Automatic Multinotch Braking and Acceleration Control)
system.
Station improvements on North Norfolk Railway
NNR trains can now use the full length of Sheringham’s platform 1, thanks
to the recently-completed run-round loop (
NRS Newsletter Jan/Feb 2005)
. At Weybourne, the station roof and canopy are complete, and the interior
has been refurbished.
“Anglia” 47 visits Dereham, but Strummer
stays away
A weekend of sunny weather helped attract modern traction fans to the Mid-Norfolk
Railway’s spring diesel gala on March 12/13. Star guest was Anglia-liveried
Class 47 no. 47714, on loan from Cotswold Rail. 47714, newly fitted with
vacuum brakes, arrived at Dereham from Ipswich on Friday March 11. During
the weekend it shared duties with the railway’s regular fleet: 50019
Ramillies, D8069, 31235 and Metro-Cammell dmu set L836 Matthew Smith
. The visitor left after working Sunday’s 1500 up train.
Another of Cotswold Rail’s Class 47s, no. 47828 Joe Strummer, had
also been due to appear, but main-line duties prevented this at the last
moment.
“War stories” lottery win for NNR
The Big Lottery has awarded £16,000 to the North Norfolk Railway and
its supporting group the M&GNJRS. The money will be used to interview
ex-railwaymen about their war-time experiences and to provide a museum exhibit
illustrating the role of railways and their staff during World War 2.
Pacer to leave?
2-car unit no. 141108, one of the most modern dmus to be preserved, may
leave the Mid-Norfolk Railway. The West Yorkshire PTE-liveried ‘Pacer’ set
has not been used for many months amidst reports of electrical difficulties.
Interested parties are invited to contact owner Viv Carter on 01473-601343.
Away from the tracks
Last of Norfolk’s steam triumvirate
dies
With the passing of Alan Bloom on March 30, Norfolk has lost the last of
its three “giants of steam” – the others being Bill Harvey and George Cushing.
Alan Bloom, famous nurseryman and steam preservationist, died at the age
of 98 at his home, Bressingham Hall near Diss. In the 1960s he created Bressingham
steam museum which, with the nursery alongside, has grown into a leading
attraction for tourists and gardeners as well as steam enthusiasts.
With Bill Harvey, celebrated shedmaster at Norwich, and George Cushing,
founder of the Thursford Collection, both having passed away in recent years,
truly Alan Bloom’s death marks the end of an era.
Road/rail connections to end
Two useful services which carried passengers to and from stations are no
more. The Bitternlink minibus which connected rural north-east Norfolk
with trains at North Walsham, finished on March 24. Norfolk County Council
says that it cannot continue to fund the service given the small numbers
of passengers it was carrying to and from villages like Overstrand and Southrepps.
Meanwhile the “Holt Flyer”, the distinctive horse-drawn cart which carried
passengers between the centre of Holt and the North Norfolk Railway’s station,
will not run this year because Gary Thomson, who operated it, is to move
to France.
Driver’s “86” badges help sick children
Children suffering from cancer have been helped by the initiative of a one
loco driver. To mark the withdrawal of the Class 86 fleet, Ipswich-based
driver Trevor Southgate produced a batch of “Class 86” badges and sold them
to raise money for CLIC, a charity for children with cancer and leukaemia.
A cheque £722.56 was presented to CLIC at Ipswich station on April
1.
£2,300 paid for scarce “halt” totem
A rare enamel totem sign from Norfolk has been bought for no less than £2,300.
Sheffield Railwayana Auctions offered the dark blue fully-flanged “Brundall
Gardens Halt” in its sale on March 12. One reason for the totem’s desirability
to collectors was that on BR’s Eastern Region just two halts – the other
was Emmerson Park Halt – had totems.
Brundall Gardens, which opened in 1924, has since lost its “Halt” suffix.
Five miles east of Norwich, it’s served by hourly Wherry Lines trains between
Norwich and Yarmouth.
Also in the Sheffield sale were two reminders of vanished Norfolk lines.
A single-line tablet for the Hunstanton branch’s northernmost section realised
£320, while £380 was paid for a LNER enamel name sign which once
adorned a gas lamp at Fakenham East.
4-CIG stored at Beccles
Ellough airfield near Beccles is the unlikely temporary home for an ex-BR(S)
4-CIG (Class 421/3) emu. At the end of January set no. 1753, in Connex
yellow-and-white livery, was withdrawn in February 2004. At the end of January
it arrived at Ellough where it is now stored under sheets. It has been bought
by the Network SouthEast Railway Society whose long-term aim is to return
it to main line use.
Met-Cam car joins Bressingham fleet
The latest Norfolk heritage site to recognise the usefulness of the Metropolitan-Cammell
Class 101 dmu is Bressingham, which has bought driving trailer car no. 54347
from Angel Trains. The car is in good condition other than some graffiti
on one side. David Madden of Bressingham’s Special Projects told the NRS
Newsletter that a dmu trailer is ideal for operating in a push-pull mode
on single track. No. 54347 would, he said, be used for “Thomas” and similar
events as well as regular services when ex-LBSCR 0-6-0T Martello emerges
from its overhaul.
Another chance to see...
For a second season Southwold Museum is mounting an exhibition of the life
and work of Reg Carter, originator of the “Sorrows of Southwold” cartoon
postcards. This year the exhibition contains several new topics. The museum,
in Victoria Street, Southwold, opens every afternoon (1400 – 1600) until
October 30, and also mornings (1000 – 1200) in August.
More ex-railway homes for sale
Four passenger services once ran daily in each direction between Heacham
and Wells, but over fifty years ago the service was withdrawn. One of the
stations served was Burnham Market, where the running-in board proudly announced
“For Burnham Thorpe and Nelson’s Birthplace”. The station building, for many
years a bed-and-breakfast establishment, is now for sale through Bedfords
(01328 730500), who are seeking a price around £695,000.
At Thetford a row of 19th century railwaymen’s cottages, long since sold
out of railway ownership, stand alongside the station’s down platform. One
of them, currently used as a holiday home, has been put on the market. The
owner (01638 713000) describes it as having many original features and is
asking £130,000 o.n.o.
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